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NYU Again Listed Among Leading Universities Attracting International Students and American Students Studying Abroad

November 12, 2012
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New York University has again been listed among the top American universities in both attracting international students and in the number of American students who study abroad, according to a new study by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

More NYU students studied abroad in the 2010-11 academic year than any other university: 3,799 students. NYU was followed by Michigan State University (2,577), the University of Minnesota (2,563), UCLA (2,451), and the University of Texas (2,350).

The IIE report also found that in the 2011-2012 academic year, NYU attracted the third highest number of international students (8,660). The University of Southern California attracted the most international students (9,269) with the University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign second (8,997). Also in the top five were Purdue University (8,563) and Columbia University (8,024).

The national results appear in Open Doors 2012, the annual report on international education published by IIE with funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

NYU has 14 Global Academic Centers, including degree-granting campuses and study-away sites on six continents. It opened a degree-granting campus in Abu Dhabi in 2010 and will open another degree-granting campus in Shanghai in September, 2013. This fall, the University opened global academic study away sites in Sydney and Washington, D.C.

“These findings demonstrate that NYU is becoming a truly global network university,” said President John Sexton.

“The core idea behind NYU’s international expansion is to enrich the research and learning of our faculty and students by offering them participation in the idea capitals of the world without compromising their connection to the rest of the university. That mission is a major reason why NYU has become so attractive to international students. If NYU's role is to properly prepare our students to become engaged and contributing citizens, then in the 21st Century that means becoming citizens of the world.”

The leading destination of American students is the United Kingdom (33,182), followed by Italy (30,361), Spain (25,965), France (17,019), and China (14,596). China is the leading country of origin of international students in the United States with 194,029 in 2011-12, a 23 percent increase over the previous year. It was followed by India (100,270), South Korea (72,295), Saudi Arabia (34,139), and Canada (26,821).

The study found that the leading fields of study in 2010-11 were the social sciences (22.9 percent), business and management (20.5 percent), the humanities (11.3 percent), fine or applied arts (8.2 percent), and the physical or life sciences (7.9 percent).

In calculating U.S. students who study abroad, the report relies on data from 2010-11 academic year—rather than the 2011-12 academic year—because these numbers are reported only after students receive credit for their academic programs—typically after they return from their study-abroad experience. By contrast, international students who come to the U.S. are tallied once they are enrolled at American colleges and universities, and these figures are available earlier.